Palliative Care

Department Physicians

• Lawrence J. Fenton, MD
• Michael Sprehe, MD
• Didima Mon-Sprehe, MD

Sanford Children’s Palliative Care Program uses a team approach to provide support for a child and family where the child has been diagnosed with a life threatening or life changing illness. This includes perinatal (before birth) situations where there has been a prenatal diagnosis of a condition with very limited survival.

This support team is available as a resource for physicians and families 24/7 at any point during a child’s illness.

Some areas of assistance include:

• helping with symptom management including pain control, spiritual needs, social service needs
  
• ongoing support for the patient, parents, siblings and extended family and bereavement counseling.
  
• help nursing staff deal with their own stress as they care for families in end of life situations.

Once the team is fully formed it will be available for consultation at any point in the child's illness, particularly during end of life situations where curative measures have either failed or do not exist.

This program is funded in part thanks to a grant from the Wellmark Foundation and is under the direction of Lawrence Fenton, MD, Chief of the Section of Pediatric Palliative Care at Sanford Children's. Pediatric Oncologist Michael Sprehe, MD and Pediatric Intensivist (critical care) Didima Mon-Sprehe, MD are also part of this team, which is supported by specially trained nurses, child life specialists, pastoral care, clinical pharmacists and social workers.

To learn more about our Palliative Care Program, please call 1-800-850-0064.